Steele standing tall

Like some kind of first round draft pick for professional sports, Sierra E. Steele is being royally wined and dined by some of the top schools in the nation. Just a humble country preacher's daughter from Union, she is an excellent student. She stands tall with a bright smile and a full head of wavy hair. Steele will be valedictorian for the 2006 Constantine High School class this year. Always a straight-A student, Steele began taking accelerated courses in middle school and now attends Glen Oaks Community College for all the advanced math they can offer. Many years of serious focus on academic challenges and hard work has paid off for her future college plans. Traveling across the east coast recently, Steele was visiting Dartmouth, Georgetown and Cornell. Stanford also is flying her out to California to check out their educational programs. All the schools are offering her a complete financial aid package of which her share will be enrolling in a work-study program and some minimal expenses. It is a good thing she is a great student, as this quality education would cost $40,000 to $50,000. The icing on the cake was the news that she won additional money with an award from the National Achievement Scholarship Program. Overseen by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the NASP is a privately financed academic competition established in 1964 specifically to honor scholastically talented black American students. Every little bit of cash helps out when it comes to college expenses. Her two older sisters are graduates from the University of Michigan. Brenda, her mother, is a Head Start teacher and her father, Steven, preaches and works for a local manufacturer. Both parents said they are proud of their daughters. "I guess it is easy to succeed when your parents tell you from the start to bring home all A's or get into trouble," Steele recalls with a laugh. All of the parental pressure has paid off in the end. Steele appreciates her parents' encouragement, but she also looks to higher sources for answers. "I have had no doubts about getting accepted into an Ivy League university. I am very religious, and I have prayed on this subject for a long, long time and God answered my prayers. He told me what college I am going to attend. But I want to visit them all so I am not telling anyone what He told me."